Frequently Asked Questions for Hospitality and Food Service sites

  • What is the purpose of this campaign?

    The ‘Guardians of Grub’ campaign supports Hospitality and Food Service businesses to reduce the alarming amount of food wasted every single year.
  • Where does the advice in the campaign come from?

    The campaign has been developed by WRAP, which has years of experience in helping food businesses to reduce the amount of food thrown away. The campaign includes contributions from FoodSave, London, Manchester Met University and Love Food Hate Waste New South Wales.
  • What type of container should I use to measure food thrown away and how do I weigh it?

    You can use any type of container suitable for holding food. It is recommended to use small containers if on the counter, or buckets if on the floor. If you use counter top containers, any kitchen scales should be suitable. If you use buckets and/or transparent liners it may be easier to use luggage scales.
  • What is a ‘baseline’? Why do I need one? How do I complete a baseline?

    A baseline is the amount you are throwing away before you take any action. In the ‘Guardians of Grub’ starter pack we encourage you to establish a baseline before you take any action to give a realistic starting point. This could be week 1 using the 7 day tracker and then the calculator tool for a month. This will help show you where your waste is coming from so that you can work with your team to take action on throwing less away.
  • How do I get my team more involved in taking action?

    Having a ‘Guardians of Grub’ Champion to take the lead within your business really helps. There are some tips on what to do in the ‘Guardians of Grub’ checklist. Seeing really is believing, so often using transparent containers or sacks to see where the waste is coming from can be an eye opener. Talk through the results shown on the calculator, so that everyone can get involved about how to make a difference within your business.
  • What if my ‘Guardian of Grub’ is away for the day – how do I keep the momentum going?

    As well as your hero, think about sharing particular responsibilities – maybe the baton can be handed to someone else for a day or two to ensure the tracking is still happening to make the best changes for your business.
  • What do the different categories of food thrown away mean?

    Spoilage: Food that is damaged or out of date such as spoilt vegetables. Preparation: Food that is thrown away during preparation, such as offcuts, and food that is served but not saved. Plate: Food that is left on customers’ plates such as chips and garnishes. Other: Food thrown away, such as food that is ready to serve e.g. buffet, but not eaten
  • Where would carcasses be captured?

    Carcasses would be part of preparation waste. You could consider using bones in stocks, or if you don’t use stock you could talk to your meat supplier about supplying meat off the bone.
  • I have specific peak days – how can I use the materials to fit with 7 day tracking?

    Ideally the period that you track should capture both the busy and quiet periods in your week, as you may find on busy days you have more plate waste and on quiet days you have more preparation waste. By understanding how the food you throw away from each category varies, you will be in a better position to manage and hopefully reduce it.
  • Plate waste tracking is hard when we are very busy. What would you recommend?

    It can be challenging to think about how this best works for you, but the key is to make it as easy as possible by working out the best place to put the bins, weighing food when you don’t have a rush on and keeping notes about what is wasted to a minimum.
  • How can I monitor other categories of waste, such as buffet or packed lunches?

    Each of the tracking has space for a fourth category of waste.